"One day? I've been unconscious for that long?"
The Whisperer, enduring the excruciating pain in his chest, asked, "Cough... What happened? Did someone already take first place? Was it the Black Eagle or the Papaya Star Spirit?"
Moonlit Cat quickly replied, "It wasn't Black Eagle or Papaya Star Spirit. It was that guy, Galaxy!"
"He only took a little over three hours, gained more than 300 points, and then surged to first place at an astonishing speed!"
"Not only that, the second and third place rewards were also taken. One by someone named 'Lonely Warrior,' and the other by someone named 'Cloud Skybright.'"
"People in the chat are speculating that they might be working together!"
The Whisperer was shocked, "What!?"
However, the moment he got emotional, he couldn't help but cough up blood.
He quickly shut his mouth, his face pale.
Moonlit Cat on the other end noticed something was wrong and asked, "Boss, are you alright?"
The Whisperer wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said with difficulty, "Forget about the ranking rewards for now. I'm injured—seriously injured!"
"If I don't get treatment soon, I'll be dead in no time."
"What!?" Moonlit Cat was stunned and quickly asked, "Boss, isn't the spirit spring water working?"
The Whisperer gritted his teeth, "No, it's not!"
"Spirit spring water can only heal minor wounds. I'm too gravely injured; I need much stronger recovery items!"
He paused and then continued, "Old Cat, I need you to do something for me."
"Gather all the team's resources and do whatever it takes to find healing items for me. If you can't, ask for help in the trading channel—use whatever means necessary to trade for them."
"Remember, no matter the cost!"
"Also, tell the others, the elite monsters in the new area are stronger than anything we've faced before. They're tough, and without recovery items, there's no way to take them down!"
Hearing the urgency in his leader's voice, Moonlit Cat immediately ended the private chat and rushed to inform the rest of the team.
However, at this stage, aside from the spirit spring water, healing items were scarce.
Some were even less effective than the spirit spring water.
Desperate, Moonlit Cat posted in both the chat and trading channels simultaneously:
[The 'Whisper of God' team is offering a large sum to purchase healing items and potions. We're willing to trade a blue-grade greatsword in exchange.]
At the same time, another major team, 'Plane Boys,' posted a similar request.
But their offer was even more astonishing—blue-grade bracer blueprint.
The entire Region 107 chat exploded in response.
At this stage, blue-grade gear was incredibly valuable.
Even Han Xing and his team hadn't looted blue gear before receiving their leaderboard rewards.
Survivors in the chat began to speculate, "Both teams are looking for healing items and are offering blue equipment and blueprint. Did something happen to their leaders, Whisperer and Papaya Star Spirit?"
This guess was almost spot-on.
Though many were tempted by the teams' offers, most didn't have healing items of sufficient value.
By late night, more survivors were reaching the 900-point threshold and inevitably encountering the area bosses.
These elite monsters, at least level 5, plunged them into despair.
Many weren't as well-equipped as Whisperer's team, and they were heavily wounded or killed outright in a single blow from the elite monsters.
Those who survived by luck vented their frustrations on the local network.
"Damn! The elite monsters in this area are insane! Their stats are so high, and they're tough as nails. How are we supposed to beat them?"
"Same here! I barely managed to scratch the elite monster, and then it went berserk! I had no chance to fight back..."
"Stop complaining! We're lucky we made it out alive. Look at the leaderboard; many names have disappeared. They're probably already dead..."
Only then did they notice how many names had vanished from the leaderboard, and a chill crept up their spines.
Surviving an encounter with an elite monster now seemed like a stroke of luck.
Others were equally shocked.
By now, they understood how the early-game map generation worked.
Every survivor's region had a powerful boss. If you didn't defeat it, a new map couldn't generate, and you couldn't break the 1,000-point mark.
The system was strict about this limit.
At this point, someone asked:
"These area bosses are so tough—is there really no way to deal with them? The system wouldn't give us an unbeatable enemy this early on, would it?"
After this question, the chat fell silent. Many wondered the same thing.
Then, a weak male voice spoke up in the chat.
"Cough... This friend is right. The system wouldn't give us an unbeatable enemy."
The speaker was Papaya Star Spirit, leader of the Plane Boys, who had previously posted many strategy guides and had a good reputation in Region 107.
When he spoke, everyone held their breath, eager to hear his insights.
Papaya Star Spirit continued, "Cough... To be honest, I also encountered an elite monster. But, I must admit, I barely escaped with my life."
As one of the top three players in recent days, Papaya Star Spirit's strength was recognized.
His words made others reassess the danger of these area bosses.
He continued, "However, the failure wasn't without gain."
"After observing for a while, I found that the monsters we encounter have similar stats. Based on this, I've drawn a conclusion."
"To defeat this level 5 elite monster, you'll need at least a green-grade main weapon to deal significant damage. This is a must. If you don't meet this requirement, don't even try."
"If you have other green gear, it'll increase your margin for error. Besides gear, you'll need decent combat awareness."
"But most importantly, you must have healing items or healing skills!"
"If the monster goes berserk, you'll inevitably take damage. Without healing items, you won't be able to continue the fight."
After Papaya Star Spirit finished speaking, the chat was filled with gasps.
Others said:
"I see. So the elite monsters in this area are that terrifying?"
"You absolutely need healing items, or you can't pass?"
"Then how did Galaxy God and Lonely Warrior make it through? Do they have healing potions?"
The guess was correct—Han Xing had a large supply of life potions.
Many people realized this at the same time, and suddenly, all attention turned to Han Xing.
That night, Han Xing's private messages exploded with requests!
Everyone desperately wanted the healing potions he possessed!